Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume15 Chapter1 1

Today's Enemy: Excess Cuteness. Part 1

"There's no other volunteers?"

The brisk voice echoed around the second-year Pine classroom.

"In that case, we'll move on to nominations."

The voice coming from near the lectern belonged to someone Yumi was well acquainted with, and seemed oddly out of place in the lazy atmosphere that permeated the classroom.

– Basically, she was the only one enthusiastic about this. Rosa Foetida en bouton, Shimazu Yoshino-san.

" … Hah."

Yumi had been deep in thought the entire time that she'd been blankly looking at her friend. Thinking that, one way or the other, she had to do something.

After school on Monday.

Their teacher had finished homeroom early and Yoshino-san had appeared triumphant in front of the blackboard. For some reason Yamaguchi Mami-san was at her side, but other than when she was writing on the board her presence was so inconspicuous it was like she was a ninja.

"Now, at long last, the athletic festival is coming up next week. As a class, we have to choose who will participate in the various events."

A cry of displeasure arose from all corners of the classroom. Yoshino-san silenced them immediately with a scowl, but in their hearts, everyone was probably thinking that they just wanted to finish cleaning quickly and either head home or rush off to their club activities. Saying this out loud would only prolong things, so they remained silent – but it was written all over their faces.

Now that she'd heard this, Yumi remembered that Yoshino-san and Mami-san were both members of the Athletic Festival Organizing Committee. This committee was different to a regular club because its work was limited in time, so in that sense it was more like the School Festival Executive Committee or the Student Council Election Committee.

Now, as much as a class could be said to have a single personality, then the second-year pine class was not particularly excited about the athletics festival.

In general.

Every class has one or two all-round athletes, or stars of specific clubs, and those sports heroes, no, heroines, were typically dragged in to the sports festival.

But, sadly, there was no-one like that in this class. There were plenty of girls in sports clubs, but none that really knocked it out of the park.

They couldn't even count on their organizing committee members – if Yoshino-san entered an event, it looked like it would be her first time exercising in seventeen years, despite being on the committee.

"Raise your hand if you don't object."

In response, a scattering of hands raised from her classmates. Yumi hastily raised her hand, not having heard what was said. She wasn't sure what they were voting on, but it looked like the majority of the class supported it, so she thought she should raise her hand in approval too. She'd check the details with Tsutako-san later – there was no way Yumi was going to ask Yoshino-san.

As she followed those around her in lowering her arm, Yumi thought. One way or the other, she had to do something.

Something about Hosokawa Kanako-chan, that is.

On Saturday, a difference of opinion had turned into an argument. Even Yumi's onee-sama, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, had got involved and broken up the fight.

There had been such a commotion at yesterday's Hanadera Academy school festival that she hadn't had time to think.

Although, thanks to that commotion, Yumi had been able to bask in the unparalleled bliss of having the strength of her soeur bonds confirmed.

But it would be a mistake to think that nothing else mattered as long as she and Sachiko-sama were happy together. Because when she was happy, the happy part of her couldn't help but wonder about other people.

Sachiko-sama had said words to the effect of, "You should let her be for now."

But after sleeping on it for a night and searching her heart again, Yumi knew she couldn't just leave things how they were. That was the answer she had found.

Yumi was suddenly brought back to her senses when someone behind her stood up and said, "But I'm already running in the club relay, doing two would be a bit tough."

"But the club relay has no bearing on the team results, right? Show a little class spirit."

Yoshino-san shot back from the podium with a bit of venom. It looked like a discussion about who would participate in the class relay was unfolding around her. Now that she thought about it, Yumi remembered that the girl who sat behind her, Karube Itsue-san, was a member of the track and field team.

"You keep going on about this class spirit, why don't you go in it then, Yoshino-san?"

Itsue-san said, just a little bit mockingly. Naturally, Yoshino-san was shaking.

"You're saying I should go in the relay?"

"You're healthy now, after your surgery, right? Don't you think that this is finally your chance to contribute to the class, Yoshino-san? If you say you're going to participate then, sure, I'll agree."

She probably thought that this would make Yoshino-san withdraw. Yumi knew full well that Yoshino-san wouldn't back down like this – she was the type that kept going, even through a red light – but there were a lot of classmates that still didn't know Yoshino-san's true nature.

"What will you do? Shall we fight together for the sake of the green team?"

Well, provoking her like that was bound to backfire. Yumi frantically tried to send this message telepathically to Itsue-san, but that time had already passed.

"… Alright. If that's what it takes to get you to race, then I'll happily take part."

Ahh. The spark inside Yoshino-san had finally taken hold. Now there was no way to stop the raging inferno.

"But, I've never once run in a race in my entire life. So I won't take the blame if we finish dead last. Is that alright with you?"

"If that happens, then the old saying about there being meaning in participation would apply, don't you think?

All the other students in the class held their breath and watched on. The tension stretched out and filled the classroom. The lazy atmosphere from earlier was now completely gone.

It was no longer a class discussion, it had morphed into a one-on-one showdown.

They weren't so much making eye contact as trying to stare the other down.

They were probably both thinking they wanted to withdraw. But to withdraw would be to lose.

As a result of their stubbornness, Yoshino-san and Itsue-san were basically forcing themselves into taking the relay spots that the rest of the class was avoiding. In other words, the winners were "everyone except those two."

"Don't you forget that then."

On the right-hand side of the blackboard, beneath "Color Relay (2x)" Yoshino-san added "Shimazu, Karube." Then she said, "With that, everything is decided. Thank-you for your co-operation," and abruptly left the podium.

"H-hold on, Yoshino-san, are you okay?"

Yumi was about to instinctively rush over to her when she felt a poke on her shoulder.

"Yumi-san, shouldn't you look out for yourself first, before worrying about other people?"

"Huh?"

Turning around, she saw the photography club's ace, Takeshima Tsutako-san.

"So you didn't realize, after all."

"W-what?"

"Earlier, when you reached up with all your might."

She turned to look at the blackboard, where Tsutako-san was pointing.

"Scavenger hunt race (5x) … ?"

" – Beneath that."

Her gaze lowered to the line showing the surnames of the participants that had been decided earlier. The last of the five names was "Fukuzawa."

"No way … "

Of all the things, she'd cast her vote for her own name.